Thursday, May 20, 2010

Black Europeans and the media (Netherlands)

It is always interesting to see how black people in Europe are portrayed in the media, since there are many stories and pictures where black people are portrayed in a stereotype way. Today I stumbled upon a remarkable example.

In the Dutch free newspaper Depers I saw a picture of Rox, the new singer songwriter from South London.

The front page (above) had the following headline: “We are really proud of Europe.” And in the byline: "And that’s why we advise Rox and four other singers."

And there is more The headline: “New, good, female and European”

I thought great for Rox that she is featured like this. But I had mixed feelings about the by-line.

“An ailing eurozone survives only by substantial investment in the own economy. So buy European products, starting with music.“

When I read the byline it felt as if they are using a black girl on the cover to make protectionisme look a bit friendly. As if they where saying that this appeal is not an anti-foreigner thing.

But maybe I am wrong, and this is just a story of an editor who likes the music of Rox.

Dami, this post was written during election time in The Netherlands. Since the whole atmosphere was anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant I had my thoughts about this article.

And Anonymous, I agree that “really” is not very good translation. But a “little bit”? If I say “het is best wel koud”, I am saying “it's pretty cold”. And you could also say, “we zijn best wel een beetje trots.” But agree that a “little bit” would more appropriate then “really”.